Pre-Duel Pleasantries: Marshall

Ordinarily, for major non-conference and conference opponents we cross the line to talk to a blogger from the other side. Instead of talking to a blogger for Marshall, we are taking this a different direction. Both of my parents are alumni of Marshall University and I grew up a fan of the Thundering Herd. I spent plenty of time at the Joan (football stadium) and the Cam (basketball arena) and I’ve always rooted for the herd. I attended Xavier University and now root for the Musketeers, but this game adds a special significance of seeing my childhood team play the school I attended. (In case you are now questioning where my rooting interest lies, I am 100% rooting for Xavier, but I would love to see Marshall play well in the loss)

In light of that, instead of interviewing a blogger for Marshall I reached out and talked to my Dad about the game. He’s a lifelong Marshall fan and grew up right outside of Huntington. After high school, he went on to Marshall University where he has plenty of funny stories and saw the rise of the football team. Let’s see what he had to say.

Banners: Are you excited for the game?

MU alum: Marshall better than East Tennessee (shots fired)

Banners: That makes me scared now

MU: It won’t happen twice by X

Banners: They (Marshall) have a lot of good wins this year. What makes them so good?

MU: Fast and Furious

Banners: Just like every D’Antoni team. I think Xavier can win, even if it is Christmas Break.

MU: It will be fast, but Marshall will lose.

Banners: What’s your favorite Marshall basketball moment? The 80 something foot shot or when the guy ripped off his pants and didn’t have the team shorts on? (Authors Note: Bruce Morris for Marshall got the rebound off a foul shot, slung it down the court, and it somehow went in. The play is legendary in Huntington and the video is awesome . Second story I cannot find any internet proof of, but it’s a great story. A guy who never played and sat at the end of the bench was called by the coach to go in. He ripped off his breakaway pants and it turns out he did not have the team shorts on. The 80s were a weird time)

MU: Probably the second one! I missed the first. I was studying.

Thank you Dad for talking about the upcoming game. Marshall basketball has a long history without much recent success (last NCAA tournament appearance in 1987). I know my Dad is looking forward to a breakthrough, and I would love to see success under D’Antoni (fun fact: his brother is Mike D’Antoni and both are West Virginia natives and Marshall guys). He did not give me a score prediction, but considering that Marshall is one of the highest scoring teams in the country, I’ll put it at Xavier: 90 Marshall: 80.